5 minute read
Counselling and support
Tuart Place is wholly committed to providing a service of excellence that responds to the unique circumstances of people who experienced out-of-home care during childhood. The central pillars of Tuart Place are safety, participant (care leaver) leadership and engagement, and a genuinely trauma-sensitive approach focussed on the needs and wishes of the individual. There can be nothing more powerful, and potentially healing, than connecting with others with shared experiences. A great strength of Tuart Place is that it provides opportunities for this to happen – either informally, at the drop-in centre and social events, or through the weekly support group. People say they like the informal approach of Tuart Place where they can ‘dip in and out’ of services as needs arise.
Given that trust is often so difficult for survivors, it is not surprising that many people first approach us with a ‘safe’ enquiry – such as locating personal records or joining in social activities – as a way of checking out if this is a safe place to go deeper – perhaps through counselling or discussing a claim for childhood abuse. Tuart Place has decades of experience in working with people to find the claims process that best suits their needs, and our staff is well equipped to talk about the various options. We always recommend getting legal advice, and can make warm referrals to trusted legal services. We also get legal feedback on all our National Redress applications and work closely with knowmore Legal Service to achieve the best possible outcome for people who decide to take part in the Scheme. “It’s all about individual choice”
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Individual counselling at Tuart Place
Sarah Regan Counsellor Redress Consultant
Gordon Paton Psychotherapist (Mondays)
Face-to-face individual counselling and therapeutic group support are key features of the Tuart Place model. The service we offer is unique. Our staff are experts in the therapeutic support of adults who experienced childhood trauma and abuse – particularly in institutional and religious settings. The flexibility of our counselling model also sets us apart from other agencies. The pace and length of counselling are catered to individual needs and people often ‘dip in and out’ of counselling as needed. Tuart Place was using this trauma-informed approach long before the child abuse Royal Commission found it was ‘best practice’ for counselling survivors of institutional abuse. The Royal Commission’s findings affirmed and validated our approach, and helped to raise community awareness about trauma-sensitive counselling practice. Contact Reception at Tuart Place to find out more about our specialist counselling services.
Susy Vaughan Senior Therapist Support Group Faciliator
Dickon Oxenburgh Counsellor Phone Outreach
Catherine Carr Counsellor Redress Consultant
Mary-Ann Oliver is a counselling student in the final year of a degree at Notre Dame University. She started a fieldwork placement at Tuart Place in February 2021. As a younger person, Mary-Ann worked with Psychiatric Services as an Occupational Therapy Assistant, and has had a range of other jobs – she is a horticulturalist and really enjoys talking about, and doing, gardening. She also loves camping in the south of WA. Since starting her placement in February, Mary-Ann has been providing support and getting to know people through phone outreach; some face-to-face counselling sessions; and through hearing people’s stories. If you would like to talk with someone who is good at listening, feel free to a have a chat with Mary-Ann.
Telephone counselling continues to be an important part of the support services offered by Tuart Place. The need for ‘remote’ counselling and support increased dramatically during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when staff and volunteer counsellors reached out by phone to people who would otherwise come into the Centre, and to care leavers who needed help to link with essential services. There is a real need for remote support among our community of care leavers, particularly those who are housebound or live a long way from Tuart Place. The demand for this kind of support has continued past the lockdowns, with many people continuing to access ongoing support by phone, or Zoom, and sometimes e-mail. A growing number of people now receive regular phone calls for either a friendly social chat or for a more indepth phone counselling appointment. To find out more or to book an individual phone call, contact Reception at Tuart Place.
Remote support from Tuart Place
Jan Newman Social Worker Redress Consultant
Help with National Redress at Tuart Place
If you would like to know more about the National Redress Scheme or get help completing the application form, book a confidential appointment with Jan, Sarah or Catherine at Tuart Place. Tuart Place staff can also provide support throughout the process, in accordance with the individual wishes of each person. Our Redress Support staff are highly experienced and sensitive to the needs of people undertaking redress processes. Each and every application we prepare is reviewed by a specialist lawyer prior to submitting. To find out more, contact Reception at Tuart Place on 1800-619-795.
Meet Meagan
Meagan Court is a student social worker studying at Curtin University. She started a fieldwork placement at Tuart Place in February 2021. As well as getting to know lots of people at Tuart Place, Meagan is spending time at the City of Fremantle, conducting interviews and preparing a report on the City’s Neighbour to Neighbour community initiative, which started up during the first COVID-19 lockdown in WA. There was a huge outpouring of support for this project, with 500 volunteers contacting thousands of Fremantle residents while they were isolated at home. If you were or are part of Fremantle’s Neighbour to Neighbour program, please have a chat with Meagan about your experiences! A large group of Tuart Place regulars attended a wonderful presentation by Meagan in the Common Room area on 19th April. Everyone agreed that Meagan will be a great social worker and has a bright future ahead.
